August 2006 Nepal’s Difficult Transition to Democracy and Peace Dev Raj Dahal, FES Kathmandu • The outcome of the April movement in Nepal revived the House of Representatives(HOR), initi­ated major reforms and facilitated the transition from absolute monarchy to representative de­mocracy. • The HOR announced constitutional control over the army and the King, declared the state secu­lar and initiated the process of democratization. • Peace talks between the government and CPN(Maoist) continue to progress despite differences on the dissolution of HOR, ceremonial monarchy, participation of CPN(Maoist) in the interim government, modalities and contents of Constituent Assembly(CA) elections and management of weapons. • A new social contract, democratization, security and peace building continue to occupy the ma­jor political and development policy of international community and civil society April 24, 2006 was an extraordinary day for the Nepalese citizens. King Gyanendra dra­matically announced the restoration of the HOR that was dissolved on May 22, 2002. This event pacified the 19-day(April 6-24) non-violent political revolt organized by the Seven-Party Alliance(SPA), 1 the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist(CPN-Maoist) and civil society groups and allowed the transition from an absolute monarchy to representative democracy. During the movement, 21 persons lost their lives and 5,000 suffered injury. On the recommendation of the SPA, the King appointed Nepali Congress(NC) President Girija Prasad Koirala as Prime Minister to re­solve the country’s problems. On May 18, the HOR declared itself“sover­eign” and“supreme” body, brought the army under civilian control, declared the state secu­lar, dissolved the royal privy council, drastically cut the power and privileges of the King in­1 The SPA consists of Nepali Congress(NC), Nepali Congress (Democratic), Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist­Leninist(CPN-UML), Nepal Sadbhavana Party(Anandi Devi), Nepal Peasants and Workers Party(NeWPP), United People’s Front(UPF) and United Left Front(ULF). cluding the right to decide the heir to the Nepali throne and emancipated secular power from the authority of the King and Hindu re­ligion. These measures have shaken the foun­dation of the nation’s political life built on the institution of monarchy, Hindu religion and Hindu identity of the state. Now, the SPA and CPN(Maoist) are competing for the owner­ship of the movement’s outcome. As a result, the mood of the civil society, CPN(Maoist) and social forces is still revolutionary, waiting for an opportune moment for another move­ment. The transitional nature of politics, therefore, continues to undermine the estab­lishment of rule of law, the condition for a stable society and institutionalization of de­mocracy and peace. Movement’s Nature The key actors of the April movement have utilized the universal ideals of democracy, human rights and peace as reference points to analyze the condition of the Nepalese society, the power of information to politicize people and the social energy of various networks, institutions, solidarities and social movements of citizens. In the course of events, the mass